Fritz - What's next?

[Hitman]

Fritz unfortunately failed to defend his title in IW, after a promising ending to last year by making the semis of YEC, he faltered early in Melbourne when there were expectations of him to go deep and potentially meet Djokovic in the semis. A good bounce back at Delray Beach looked like he was righting the ship, but unable to keep that momentum in Acapulco where I had him as one of the top guys to win the title considering the good form he was showing again...and a loss before the semis at IW.

He is now in a position where has has lost his big title, the promising start has not come together for him. How do you see him bouncing back after that IW title loss? Is Miami too soon for him, or does he get it together for the channel slam?

 

[junior74]

I like Fritz. He has a calm way about him which I think will help him on the way to more titles.

What disappoints me is his "neutral" 2nd serve. Needs to improve it to hold serve easier.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

 

[travlerajm]

He’s still better than Alcaraz

If you believe UTR.

 

[ChaelAZ]

He is in the top 10, having some of his best tourney's as of last year, making millions and show-boating around in a high-end life.

What's next? Probably more.

 

[thrust]

He’s still better than Alcaraz

If you believe UTR.

Not yet! Alcaraz outranks him at #1, has won a slam and won 2 more masters titles.

 

[travlerajm]

Not yet! Alcaraz outranks him at #1, has won a slam and won 2 more masters titles.

But UTR is of the most accurate rating system ever invented, according to UTR.

 

[tennis24x7]

He’s still better than Alcaraz

If you believe UTR

U meaning Useless

 

[MeatTornado]

What happens? Nothing. He'll still be a player who can keep making some QFs or even SFs but not win titles as he stays on the fringes of the top 10, probably floating anywhere from 13 to 7.

His best case scenario for 2023 is becoming the sacrificial lamb of the annual Djokovic Invitational at the AELTC.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Fritz will never win big titles and his career highlight will remain winning IW. He'll have a Feliciano Lopez type of career and will hover in the 12-20 rank.

 

[InsuranceMan]

To answer the title of the post…

Hopefully nothing

 

[James P]

Thought it was a pretty good attempted title defense. Ran into a Sinner in fine form. I think he has a decent shot at making another ATP Finals at the end of the season.

 

[insideguy]

Thought it was a pretty good attempted title defense. Ran into a Sinner in fine form. I think he has a decent shot at making another ATP Finals at the end of the season.

I agree. Hes been very competitive in almost every match he's played this year.

 

[Max G.]

He's had a perfectly good start to the year. He's 17-5, with 1 title (2 if you count United Cup - which DOES give ranking points, so you could). He's currently 8th in the race, so he's had a better start to the year than all but 8 players. In addition to his title(s?), he's got a few semis and qfs.

Where next for him? We'll see, but he definitely has a chance to become a fixture in the top 10, which is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[dking68]

he really gave Sinner a run for his money in that QF. Really impressed me a lot. Deserves to stay top ten imho

 

[BeatlesFan]

he really gave Sinner a run for his money in that QF. Really impressed me a lot. Deserves to stay top ten imho

To put this into perspective-- Fritz took the 11th ranked player (Sinner) to a third set in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. This shows what a low bar tennis is at currently, when this is a BFD. No criticism of you intended, dking68, just comparing this weak era to prior strong eras.

 

[Sudacafan]

There’s something a bit weird with his eyelids.

 

[dking68]

To put this into perspective-- Fritz took the 11th ranked player (Sinner) to a third set in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. This shows what a low bar tennis is at currently, when this is a BFD. No criticism of you intended, dking68, just comparing this weak era to prior strong eras.

But even though Sinner is ranked 11th. He’s playing at a top 5 level now albeit the serve. Sinners ranking is not where it should be. In the next 6 months I expect him to be top five

 

[socallefty]

Expect him to not do well on clay, make Wimbledon semifinal or maybe final, do Ok in the US Open series (maybe best at faster courts like Cincinnati) and then have a good finish to the season indoors. Probably make the top 8 in Turin again.

 

[insideguy]

Expect him to not do well on clay, make Wimbledon semifinal or maybe final, do Ok in the US Open series (maybe best at faster courts like Cincinnati) and then have a good finish to the season indoors. Probably make the top 8 in Turin again.

Im curious what he will do on clay this year. He won some decent matches last year but got hurt.

 

[socallefty]

Im curious what he will do on clay this year. He won some decent matches last year but got hurt.

I don’t think he has enough shot tolerance to make the last four of clay tournaments consistently except possibly in the high altitude of Madrid where everyone is less consistent. Hope the local kid proves me wrong.

 

[Kemitak]

Should he play more S&V? Mix it up?

 

[travlerajm]

.

 

[socallefty]

Should he play more S&V? Mix it up?

I don’t think he is a particularly good volleyer.

 

[Nadal>>>>>Federer]

Over the past 12-24 months you can tell he really put in the work. His BH is much better. His movement seems to have improved as well and he is willing to stay in longer rallies rather than pulling the trigger too soon. All of this has culminated in tremendous results. However now it appears he is having trouble consistently being a top player week in week out. He is still getting better and has clearly matured quite a bit. I think he can do it and win a slam.

 

[atatu]

I think there are about 1,500 professional players who would gladly trade places with him.

 

[Bambooman]

There’s something a bit weird with his eyelids.

They complete him.

 

[Fiero425]

Over the past 12-24 months you can tell he really put in the work. His BH is much better. His movement seems to have improved as well and he is willing to stay in longer rallies rather than pulling the trigger too soon. All of this has culminated in tremendous results. However now it appears he is having trouble consistently being a top player week in week out. He is still getting better and has clearly matured quite a bit. I think he can do it and win a slam.

Well, duh! Surprise! I can't imagine people thinking Fritz would come close to defending his title! It was a fluke last season though impressive at the time winning over Nadal, but it wasn't going to happen twice! I think he was lucky not to drop an earlier match! It really was a good effort to compete against Sinner who has more weapons! He'll probably drop out of the top 10 soon; maybe even the top 20 it's so tight in the rankings! That was a big chuck of change to defend! It all balances out if you're just a marginally good player! It's impossible to keep it up w/ how deep the talent is on the tour these days! You have to be ready from Rd. 1 or you can be knocked out by some "also ran!"

 

[atatu]

Well, duh! Surprise! I can't imagine people thinking Fritz would come close to defending his title! It was a fluke last season though impressive at the time winning over Nadal, but it wasn't going to happen twice! I think he was lucky not to drop an earlier match! It really was a good effort to compete against Sinner who has more weapons! He'll probably drop out of the top 10 soon; maybe even the top 20 it's so tight in the rankings! That was a big chuck of change to defend! It all balances out if you're just a marginally good player! It's impossible to keep it up w/ how deep the talent is on the tour these days! You have to be ready from Rd. 1 or you can be knocked out by some "also ran!"

Brandon Holt has entered the chat.

 

[stringertom]

Over the past 12-24 months you can tell he really put in the work. His BH is much better. His movement seems to have improved as well and he is willing to stay in longer rallies rather than pulling the trigger too soon. All of this has culminated in tremendous results. However now it appears he is having trouble consistently being a top player week in week out. He is still getting better and has clearly matured quite a bit. I think he can do it and win a slam.

His last two slams have been early exits but he’s really only had those two losses as extreme blemishes.

 

[Fiero425]

Brandon Holt has entered the chat.

Unfortunately he's getting the notoriety due to Momma (TA-H), and keeps coming up short when it counts! The weapons just aren't there!

 

[heavyD]

To put this into perspective-- Fritz took the 11th ranked player (Sinner) to a third set in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. This shows what a low bar tennis is at currently, when this is a BFD. No criticism of you intended, dking68, just comparing this weak era to prior strong eras.

What perspective is this exactly? The 4th seed lost in 3 sets to the 11th seed in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. Are you trying to say this kind of thing is unique and never happened in other eras? I can assure you that higher seeded players have lost to lower seeded players in every area regularly and has absolutely no relation to what bar tennis is currently at. Where do some of you guys come up with this stuff? It's like the doomsdayers in golf that thought it was all over when Tiger was no longer great meanwhile golf is thriving today. Some of you need to get a grip on things and realize that great players don't last forever and new generations will spawn new great players.

 

[travlerajm]

What perspective is this exactly? The 4th seed lost in 3 sets to the 11th seed in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal. Are you trying to say this kind of thing is unique and never happened in other eras? I can assure you that higher seeded players have lost to lower seeded players in every area regularly and has absolutely no relation to what bar tennis is currently at. Where do some of you guys come up with this stuff? It's like the doomsdayers in golf that thought it was all over when Tiger was no longer great meanwhile golf is thriving today. Some of you need to get a grip on things and realize that great players don't last forever and new generations will spawn new great players.

She was responding to a poster who was “impressed” by the #2-UTR 20-something player in the world pushing the #11 seed in an M1000 tourney to 3 sets, and how that perspective is unique to the current era.

Her point was, I believe, that in other eras, the second best 20-something player in the world would be a multi-slam winner for sure.

 

[heavyD]

She was responding to a poster who was “impressed” by the #2-UTR 20-something player in the world pushing the #11 seed in an M1000 tourney to 3 sets, and how that perspective is unique to the current era.

Her point was, I believe, that in other eras, the second best 20-something player in the world would be a multi-slam winner for sure.

Yeah but that's not a good point as there's always been top 10 players that couldn't break through in grand slams.

 

[travlerajm]

Yeah but that's not a good point as there's always been top 10 players that couldn't break through in grand slams.

Yes. But in 26 career slam events played, Fritz has only one QF appearance and one other 4R appearance on his resume — that’s it. Can you find me another Top-5 player in history with that lousy of a slam resume?

Taylor Fritz, your #2-UTR 20–something player in the world, has only made it past the 3rd round of a major twice in 26 career slams played. Let that sink in.

 

[Hitman]

Does Fritz have the game to win a Wimbledon title in his career? I think the surface looks good for him personally.

 

[dking68]

Does Fritz have the game to win a Wimbledon title in his career? I think the surface looks good for him personally.

It looks good for him. But with the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner, a revitalized Zverev. I don’t see it happening. Could throw in FAA

 

[travlerajm]

Does Fritz have the game to win a Wimbledon title in his career? I think the surface looks good for him personally.

See my comment above on how many times he’s gotten past the 3rd round of a major. Not saying it can’t happen, but I don’t like his chances.

 

[Hitman]

It looks good for him. But with the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner, a revitalized Zverev. I don’t see it happening. Could throw in FAA

See my comment above on how many times he’s gotten past the 3rd round of a major. Not saying it can’t happen, but I don’t like his chances.

So, don't think it is likely at all that he can pull one off at SW19 especially if the draw opens up for him? He is one of the few I have seen who feels quite comfortable on the grass.

 

[travlerajm]

Does Fritz have the game to win a Wimbledon title in his career? I think the surface looks good for him personally.

In his outlier run to the Wimbledon 22 QF, Fritz did well in running through this gauntlet of tough grass opponents:

1R Lorenzo Musetti
2R Alistair Gray
3R Alex Molcan
4R Jason Kubler

Can he repeat that?

For perspective, none of these opponents has ever won a main draw Wimbledon match outside of that 2022 event.

 

[Hitman]

In his outlier run to the Wimbledon 22 QF, Fritz did well in running through this gauntlet of tough grass opponents:

1R Lorenzo Musetti
2R Alistair Gray
3R Alex Molcan
4R Jason Kubler

Can he repeat that?

Why not? He massively choked against Nadal in the quarters, a match he should have won. How much it is going to be a mental thing is going to be important. I feel he is maturing more and more, starting to see him a bigger name now more than he was a year ago. But I do think he will need a few things going his way, he has what it takes to win at least one in his career IMO.

 

[heavyD]

Yes. But in 26 career slam events played, Fritz has only one QF appearance and one other 4R appearance on his resume — that’s it. Can you find me another Top-5 player in history with that lousy of a slam resume?

Taylor Fritz, your #2-UTR 20–something player in the world, has only made it past the 3rd round of a major twice in 26 career slams played. Let that sink in.

So a very good player that's underperformed at the grand slams? Hey look the sky is blue today.

 

[fishpiefriday]

He was never likely to defend his title. He can thank the fact that Rafa got injured last year to let him win it.

 

[insideguy]

I am going to say beating Rune in straight sets.

 

[Quaichang]

There’s something a bit weird with his eyelids.

He might have some Asian in his genes.

 

[travlerajm]

He might have some Asian in his genes.

Joins Chang and Nishikori in the Asians in the Top 5 list.

 

[Tennfan123]

Keep passing Go and collecting the cash

 

[BeatlesFan]

What's next for Fritz? Winning 6 games against Carlos on Thursday.

 

[travlerajm]

What's next for Fritz? Winning 6 games against Carlos on Thursday.

I think he wins more than that.

 

[Moose Malloy]

Yes. But in 26 career slam events played, Fritz has only one QF appearance and one other 4R appearance on his resume — that’s it. Can you find me another Top-5 player in history with that lousy of a slam resume?

Taylor Fritz, your #2-UTR 20–something player in the world, has only made it past the 3rd round of a major twice in 26 career slams played. Let that sink in.

Not gonna research every top 5 player(there have been a lot of them), but...

Ljubicic cracked the top 5 after making the QF at '06 Australia. His record in majors was worse than Fritz at the time - 26(30 if you count losses in qualies) majors played, 1 QF, 13 first round losses, 9 second round losses. Finished his career playing 48 majors, making 2 4R, 1 QF, 1 SF. I would bet Fritz(whose only 25 - young by today's standards) will have a much better record in majors by the time of his 48th major.

When Brad Gilbert cracked the top 5 he had played 20 majors and made only one QF. Finished his career with 37 majors and only 2 QF.

Jiri Novak is another top 5 players who had a poor record in majors.